Beehive



W. F. McCREADY.

BEEHIVE.

APPLICATION FILED AUG.I, l9l9.

Patented Jan. 3, 1922.

3 SHEETSSHEET 1' W. F. McCREADY.

BEEHIVE.

APPLICATION FILED AUG.1, 1919.

Patented Jan. 3, 1922.

SHEET 2.

3 SHEETS- W. F. lVIcCREADY.

BEEHIVE.

I APPLICATION FILED AUGJ, 1919. 1 402 1 9 Patented Jan. 3, 1922.,

3 SHEETS-SHEET 3.

W P l6 I9 ll -m UNITED STATE-S WILLIAM F. MeCREADY, OLE ESTERQ, FLORIDA, ASSIGNOE TO THE KOBES HJLN UNITY,

0F EST-BBO, EIFORIDA, A CORPORATION OF FLORIDA. V

BEE V Specification of Letters Patent.

Continuation of application Serial No. 413$, filed Aug 1 5- This application filed August 1,

919. Serial n 314,638.

To all whom it may concern;

Be it known that I, WILLIeM F. Mo- CRnADY, a citizen of the UriitedStates, residing at Estero, in the county of Lee and State of Florida, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Beehives, of which the following is a specification, refer ence being had therein to the accompanying drawings. The je o my n ention i th br d est view, is to make improvements in bee hives to secure certain benefits or advantages, hereinafter set forth, to both bees and ap 'iag rist, and, in the narrower iew, or more particularly, to change the-constructiwof the hive bottom and top from the constructions heretoforeknown; and to this end, my invention consists in the construction substantially as hereinafter specified and comprehended within the subjoined claims.

In the drawings:

Fig. 1 is a top plan view of a bee-hive em: bodying my invention;

Fig. 2 is a vertical section thereof,=on the line 22 of Fig. 1;

Figs. 3, l and 5 are, respectively, top plan views of various forms of bottom, made in accordance with my inventiQ l;

Fig, 6 is a vertical section through the bottom board shown in Fig. 5; V

Fig. 7 is a perspective View of the two top cover members of the center hive unit or section, separated from each other} and Fig. 8 is a like view of the members 9f the top cover of one of the lateral units, or sections. 7

Briefly described, my invention in what I regard now as its'loest form, and as an entire organization, comprehends the arrangement of a plurality of similar hive bodies quincunx order, there being a central, rectangular body and a lateral, similar body on each of the four sides, and as many bodies vertically or tiered up, as may be desired, with appropriate bottom boards and top covers of novel construction. With the internal construction or equipment of the various hive bodies, such as the brood and'honey section a es, e e a, m P e nt" i e tion is not concerned, and it is therefore needless to describe the same, for such can be any of desired or standard or customary kind, It is one of the important chara teristics .of my invention that communication between all the hive bodies and theoutside shall be through a single entrance, from Patented Jan.3, 1922i which. a passage leads inward benea th one of the hive units, and which branches or ramifies to the other hive bodies and, as I prefer, that communication, or passage, of bees must always be by way ofthe central unit or section, which passage is in communi cation with the entrance by a tunnel or subway, in the bottom board. 3 f

The bottom board'10, nomatter what its detailed construction, is cruciform in plan vieW, around the sides or rim of ea'ch rectangular arm 11 of the cross, is a narrow ledge or rib 12 for the support of the hive body 13, so that ample space is afforded for. passage 0f bees below the frames supported in. the'body; and in the form of. bottom shown in Figs. 3 and 4, the ledges of two op posite arms are carried inward a short dis tance toprovide supports let'for the central hive body 15 to space it'the proper distance above the bottom boards central portion 16. One, and only one of the arms 11 is chan neled or hollowed out horizontally to provide a passage, P, that leads from its outer end, (where an'alighting board 17' 'isprovided) to a point. where it opens into the space beneath the central hive body 15 and preferably, as shown in Figs. 2 and3, such passage is of tunnel or subway form, although, as shown Fig] t it may be the space between the opposite side'ledges of that arm. The entering bees, reaching the space beneath the central hive body are free to therefrom into the hive bodies above thevarionsarms, as wellas the central hive body, but it is only by that central space that they have access to the various hive bodies. If preferred, each arm, as Well as the'central space 16 may be tunneled or provided with a subway, as shown in Figs. 5'and 6,

in which case, one or more vertical slots or holes 18 lead from the subwa'y'ofeach arm directly to the space above.

' In the centralsection 16, is a rectangular hole 19 closed by' a'remov'able board 20, so

that, if desired, a hive body 21 may be placed with Which is afforded thebees through the the central part, the bottom board 10 may rest "beneath the central section, communication hole 19 when: the board is absent' Thus,at 10 upon and be supported by a hive body, and

the various arms can rest upon and be supportedby posts or legs 22, suitably placed.

y arrangement of the means of communication between inside and outside of hive upper piece 25, with arectangularlledge 2b which, at its bottom edge rests upon the top of the lower member, whose external dimen sions it matches, so that a dead air space or chamber is thus provided within the rectangular ledge 26. One surface of the lower member 23 is plane, while on the opposite face at each of the four sides, is anotchor cavity 27 Whose purpose will presently appear. 7

Each top cover for the body of each arm, is likewise. composed of two members, a lower member 28, having on one surface, three sides, a ledge 29, and on the opposite surface, a notch or recess 30 at one side, only, and an upper member31 whose top surface slants downward and outward, while; on its underside, on three edgesis a ledge 32 within which the lower member snugly fits ;.it being wedge-shaped, or tapering, due to the inclination of two opposite sides of its ledge. WVhen the ledge is uppermost, and the two members are together, the lower within the upper, a dead air space is provided in the topcover. -When thus assembled, the notch 30 registers with an adjacent notch in the central top cover lower member, .andthus communication at the top oi the hive bodies is provided between the central unit and each of the lateral units, so'that with the passages at thebottom, the work of ventilating or internal circulation of air by the customary wing-fanning of the bees is greatly facilitated. The bottom board construction shown in Fige, since it providesior the direct flow of air currents, is of particular value in this connection and is therefore best suited for Warm localities." On the other' hand, and this is especially true of the tunneled bottom boards, the hive ocoupantsare protected from adverse weather conditions, such as wind storms, low temperature, etc,v

The top cover of the central unit orsection overlaps, at its four sides, the inner edges of the top cover ofthe' four lateral units, or sections, and rests upon a vertical rib or stri 33 on each of said lateral top covers. T us, the covers are rain, snow and water-proof Any water passing from the central top cover falls on the sloping tops of the lateral covers, and cannot pass'the strips 33'but is-shed over such inclined tops Wind cannot displace the top covers for the side flanges of the lateral covers overlap the sides of the'hive bodies, and the ledge of the central coveris nested snugly within the four surrounding lateral covers, and within the rain excluding strips 33, and hence, all covmg the one leading to the hive exterior; and

where cold becomes severe, fill the outer, or lateral hive bodies with'cihaff, or other material. 'An' important advantage of the quincunx arrangement of the hive units is that the, central unit is housed or enclosed von all four sides. r

When the bee-keeper is manipulating the contents of any-lateral or outside unit,,bees

can be prevented coming out of theitopsbt any other section merely by inverting the inner or lower member of the central-top cover, t place the notches or recesses there in, uppermost, and when workingwith the central section, egress of bees from the top 7 can be prevented by inverting the lower membersof the outer 'sectiontop covers so as to place the notches therein uppermost. This application is a continuation of application'No. 47,281, filed August 21, 1915. f W What I claim iszf 1.11, bee-hive comprising a quincnnx arrangement of rectangular hive bodies one of such bodies being at the "center of the group, and each of its sides being abutted by one of the other bodies of the group. p 2. A bee hive "comprising a quincunx arrangementof rectangular hive bodies oneot such bodies being at the center of the group, and each of its sides. being abutted by one of theother bodies of the group, and a bot tom board common to all the units. 3. A beehive comprising a quincunx arrangement of rcctangular'hive bodies one of such bodies being at the center. of the having an entrance passage that is single in its outer portion and ramifies at its inner portion.

5. A bee hive comprising a group of hive bodies placed side by side, each having a space for bees in its bottom part, and a single entrance passage leading to all the spaces and being the only communication therebetween and the hive entrance.

6. A bee hive comprising a group of hive bodies placed side by side, each having a space for bees in its bottom part, and a single entrance passage leading to all the spaces and being the only communication therebetween and the hive entrance, said passage being tunnel-like.

T. A bee hive comprising a group of side by side hive bodies, a bottom board of permanent, unitary form, having a section below each hive body, and an entrance opening at only one of the bodies from which a passage leads beneath, that body and at its inner end is in communication with the interior of all the other bodies.

8. A bee hive comprising a group of side by side hive bodies, a bottom board of permanent, unitary form, having a section below each hive body, and an entrance opening at only one of the bodies from which a passage leads beneath that body and at its inner end is in communication with the interior of all the other bodies, said passage being tunnel-like.

9. A bee hive comprising central and lateral bodies, an entrance, a bee passage leading beneath but one of said lateral bodies, from said entrance, to a bee space at the bottom of the central body, said space beingin communication with similar spaces at the bottom of the other bodies.

10. A bee hive comprising a group of side by side hive bodies, a. bottom board of permanent, unitary form, having a section below each hive body, and an entrance opening at only one of the bodies from which a passage leads beneath that body and at its inner end is in communication with the interior of all the other bodies, and separately removable top covers for the several hive bodies.

11. A bee hive comprising a group of side by side hive bodies, a bottom board of permanent, unitary form, having a section below each hive body, and an entrance opening at only one of the bodies from which a passage leads beneath that body and at its inner end is in communication with the interior of all the other bodies, and openings establishing communication between the several bodies at the top, where they ad- 30m.

12. A bee hive comprising a'group of side by side hive bodies, a bottom board of permanent, unitary form, having a section be- 7 low each hive body, and an entrance opening at only one of the bodies from which a passage leads beneath that body and at its inner end is in communication with the 7 interior of all the other bodies, and openings establishing communication between the several bodies at the top, where they adjoin, said openings being in one side of invertible covers.

13. A bee hive cover comprising upper central cover being nested within the four lateral covers.

15. A bee hive comprising a quincunx arrangement of rectangular hive bodies one of such bodies being at the center of the group, and each of its sides being abut-ted by one of the other bodies of the group, and separate covers for each of said bodies, the central cover being nested within the four lateral covers and overlapping the same.

16. A bee hive comprising a qu'incunx arrangement of rectangular hive bodies one.

of such bodies being at the center of the group, and eachof its sides being abutted by one of the other bodies of the group, and separate covers for each of said bodies, the central cover being nested within the four lateral covers and overlapping the same, said lateral covers having upstanding strips where they are overlapped.

17. A bee hive bottom board having an opening from top to bottom closed by a removable closure.

18. A bee hive comprising a cluster of side by side units, a single bottom board for all said units, and a hive body on which the bottom board rests.

In testimony whereof I afiix my signature. 1

WM. F." MoCREADY. 

